It’s a Happy Thursday for me because 1-The Phoenix Suns won last night; putting the whole “Los Suns” thing to rest; and 2-After 2 weeks of missing it, I finally get to update “The Greatest Song of All Time This Week.”

The good news here is that had I known this song existed before I left for Louisville, “The Luckiest Dang Gal on the Face of the Planet” may have broken up with me out of frustration because I insisted on keeping the song on repeat on my iPod…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_f8EiNTuh8[/youtube]

I miss Nappy Roots so much. This isn’t TECHNICALLY Nappy Roots (it’s actually rapper KD with two members of Nappy Roots), but you get the point. You DO get the point, don’t you?

“My Old Kentucky Home” gave me goosebumps when I heard it at the Kentucky Derby. “My Kentucky Home” makes me bop my head shake my ass. They’re similar feelings really.

Of course, don’t tell that to our buddy Demsey’s Army; or @DempseysArmy via Twitter. He said…

“David Hernandez may never be very good but he certainly has balls. Unflappable.”

Unflappable, unsuccessful…they’re very similar thought processes.

Of course, DA was the easy choice this morning from “The Great Arbitrator” Drew Forrester for “Apologist of the Morning” on AM1570 WNST’s “The Morning Reaction.”

Hernandez was brutal yesterday, but the O’s were at least able to make it interesting once Andy Pettitte was forced to leave the game. The Yanks might have a real issue on their hands dealing with their older players. Of course, I’d gladly take that issue myself if I could have the players on their team.

Since I wasn’t in Baltimore this weekend, I will be forced to admit that I’m starting to wonder if the sweep of the Red Sox really ever did happen.

If I had seen it with my own eyes, it would be easier to believe, but I will admit that I’m starting to wonder if it was nothing more than a cruel civic prank that every last one of you was in on.

Credit the Orioles’ bullpen for 4.1 innings of relief without giving up an earned run. The bullpen HAS pitched well of late, although there still isn’t a closer and I’m not sure the team even still remembers what the defined roles were for each pitcher back when the season started.

By the way, how funny was it to see Rick Kranitz get tossed early yesterday? It gave me the feeling of “What the hell am I going to do here anyway?”

Kudos to Orioles fans for their almost unanimous reaction to the news. I pulled some highlights from the Baltimore Sun’s comment section after Jeff Zrebiec first posted the story…

-“I find this kind of funny from the man who assembled this mess. Threats don’t motivate players; better talent does, and MacPhail has failed miserably with his “grow the arms and buy the bats” philosophy.”
-“I didn’t notice anywhere in the article where Andy took personal responsibility for selecting the players on the team. Is it too much to ask that he say he is personally responsible for the failures on the team instead of just pointing the finger?”
-“He should have said, “Sometimes you have to take into account I have complied a team that looks like an expansion roster.””
-“How about he send himself to Norfolk for assembling this crap-tastic team. Lets see, we needed a SS, Clean-up hitter, and top of the rotation starter when he first got here….and we still need a SS, clean up hitter, and top of the rotation starter years later.”
-“So, is MacPhail basically saying, “I crapped the bed this offseason?””

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

If MacPhail is angry about how the lineup has performed, maybe he should ask himself why the lineup didn’t have any real power hitters/run producers.

And before we move on from the Orioles, a reminder that the Birds now head to Minnesota for their first ever series against the Twins at Target Field. Game 1 is tonight at 8:10pm, and can be seen on MASN2. Brad Bergesen (gulp) is scheduled to face Carl Pavano, and we’ll be chatting about it in our “Orange Crush” at WNST.net, which I believe will be hosted by the great Bob Haynie.

I’d be more excited about the game tonight, but Iron Man 2 comes out at midnight. Priorities, people.

As I wrote yesterday, don’t get worked up about this. Ed Reed had an injured hip/groin that forced him to miss four games. Like other players who miss time due to injuries, he decided to have offseason surgery.

Really a “nothing to see here” type of story.

Ed has told anyone that will listen this offseason that he’ll be back on the field this season as long as he’s healthy enough to be out there. John Harbaugh, Ozzie Newsome, etc. are all working under the assumption that Reed will return.

I wandered over to Unitas Stadium just in time for the 3rd quarter last night. By the time the 3rd quarter was over, I was ready to begin my Cinco de Mayo festivities.

It was an impressive performance in the 2nd half last night for Tony Seaman’s club. Seaman will join Drew Forrester tomorrow morning at 8:05 to preview Saturday’s CAA Championship Game, where Towson will host Delaware.

And in no world do I believe that a HEN is capable of beating a TIGER.

We can lament, or we can look at these pictures of Cassie Keller, who is apparently starring in some rip-off video called “Miss Gruber” that Playboy put together. I support everything about it, and thank Busted Coverage for the discovery…

Don’t bother asking me which one is Cassie. I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter.

I really think there was an issue with Ice Box’s knees last week. He had them wrapped on Friday morning, and Zito didn’t appear happy. He ran particularly well, especially considering the bad trip he got, having run into traffic twice coming down the stretch.

Given that the Preakness is a BIT shorter, I don’t know that Ice Box was necessarily going to be a favorite at Pimlico-but he would certainly be amongst the favorites.

And to appease Chris Bonetti, here’s a picture of “Ice Box” from the movie Little Giants now all grown up…

And if you missed Kentucky Derby-winning trainer of Super Saver Todd Pletcher on with Drew Forrester this morning, check it out in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here at WNST.net.

And finally, I leave you with this.

Everyone in the world has posted the Bobby Cox/Bobby Cocks cake picture, but it’s STILL funny. Well played United States Senate.

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because last night was the annual “Undie Run” at Arizona State University. As someone who lived right down the street from ASU for two years, I can’t even BEGIN to explain what a good idea this is…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRtPVxoB4AA[/youtube]

The failure to copy this idea at Towson University is absolutely UNTHINKABLE. The University of Maryland is putting together their first ever Undie Run in 6 days, and they’ll have a lot to live up to…

AJ Burnett is a hell of a pitcher. He might not be Roy Halladay, but he’s pretty damn good.

That being said-it is UNACCEPTABLE to have runners on 2nd & 3rd base with no outs and then see Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters strike out. It’s just unacceptable. There’s no other way to put it.

What Gary Thorne, Mike Flanagan and Ben McDonald said during the MASN broadcast was telling however. With runners and 2nd and 3rd with none out, the pressure in that situation was somehow on the Orioles hitters and NOT on Burnett.

How could it have EVER come to this?

ALL of the pressure was on the Orioles hitters. Instead of going to the plate and thinking “cool, another spot to drive in some more runs”, Orioles hitters were thinking something along the lines of “oh dear God I better get a hit here because I have no idea if we’ll ever get a chance like this again!”

How telling was it that in the bottom of the inning; after Jones misplayed Francisco Cervelli’s single into a triple; Dave Trembley decided to pull the infield in.

In the THIRD inning.

Watching the Orioles is slightly less fun than going to the dentist at this point.

Maybe I’m the one responsible for this. I went away to hang out at the Kentucky Derby over the weekend, and the Orioles swept the Red Sox in 3 games I couldn’t even watch on TV. I’ve been able to actually SEE the O’s win exactly FOUR games this season!

FOUR!

The Orioles had no RBI at all last night, and haven’t driven a runner in from scoring position YET through two games at Yankee Stadium.

Brian Matusz was by no means bad last night, although he did walk in a run.

It’s just like a continuous nightmare.

I know what will brighten our spirits….a picture of Serinda Swan from BarstoolSports.com…

And believe it or not, it ISN’T just by putting a Ben’s Chili Bowl inside the stadium…

I seriously credit Nats President Stan Kasten for saying the right thing when asked about low attendance. When you have a bad product (like the Nationals HAVE had; and the Orioles certainly DO have), it’s YOUR fault. YOU need to fix it.

And if Dave Trembley just said the wrong thing out of frustration when asked about attendance, Andy MacPhail just just make a statement to “correct” him.

Or the team can keep allowing the fans to be blamed for the bad product. That’s a good idea too.

While Ernie Harwell has very LITTLE to do with Baltimore, it is certainly worth discussing this. Harwell represented what fans used to LOVE about baseball-especially in towns like Baltimore. He will be SORELY missed.

Just try watching this without tearing up. Ernie Harwell was a SPECIAL man…

-If you missed Zach Britton on with Drew Forrester this morning on “The Morning Reaction” on AM1570 WNST; you can check it out in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault at WNST.net.

-Congratulations to today’s “Apologist of the Morning”, Steve Melewski from MASN. He wrote a great piece talking about how Luke Scott had a better slugging percentage than Brian Roberts last year-so we should defend Scott’s poor play this season.

That’s right. Luke Scott’s slugging percentage was better than the team’s leadoff hitter last year. That makes him a good player who deserves to keep his spot in the lineup.

Christ.

-The O’s and Yanks are back at it this afternoon in The Bronx; with David Hernandez facing licensed Orioles killer Andy Pettitte. First pitch is at 1:05pm. Follow us on Twitter (@WNST) during the game for humorous updates.

Maybe they should just throw him in the kicking competition too while they’re at it???

The Ravens have a TON of depth at linebacker. Terrell Suggs is backed up by Paul Kruger; Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe are backed up by Tavares Gooden, Antwan Barnes, Jameel McClain, Jason Phillips, Prescott Burgess and Brendon Ayanbadejo; and Jarret Johnson is backed up by Sergio Kindle. Now add Edgar Jones to that mix.

I don’t think they’ll all be in East Rutherford the night the Ravens play the Jets.

If you missed Ravens center Matt Birk or QB Coach Jim Zorn with Drew this morning, they’re both up in the Audio Vault.

I haven’t had a chance to say much about the tragic situation at Virginia, and I probably won’t say much about it here, as we are MUCH too light-hearted for poignancy. The Cavaliers are probably doing the right thing by playing in the NCAA Tournament, but you can’t imagine it won’t have an impact.

“The Luckiest Dang Gal on the Face of the Planet” is a NDP grad, and I know the community there has been TERRIBLY shook by the news. Prayers for all of them and blessings to the Love family.

For as bad a start as Don Zimmerman’s Retrievers got off to this season, they have a realistic chance of making the NCAA Tournament-although they would likely have to play the conference championship game at Stony Brook this weekend.

They certainly have a better chance of making the NCAA Tournament than I do of getting to know Tulisa Contostavlos on a more personal level (Thanks Guyism!)…

The Tigers also HAVE to win their conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament, although it isn’t quite as steep a climb. They’ll be able to host the Championship game Saturday should they win tonight.

In a completely unrelated story, former Oregon cheerleader Amanda Pflugard is apparently a model now. I thought this was important enough to pass along (Thanks Busted Coverage!)…

Rumor has it that when asked about what he’ll do differently this time after failing to win at Churchill Downs; I believe he may have said…”Well I’m sure as hell not going to talk to that clown Glenn Clark before the race this time.”

It’s a Happy Thursday for me because a Washington sports team suffered an unthinkably bad loss last night! Woo hoo!!!

(Edit from GMC: I’ve tried to hold back my disdain for the Washington Capitals for a few weeks. I can’t do it anymore. Screw them, and screw all of the people in DC who root for them. They’re the same people who root for the Redskins. I HATE the Redskins. And those insufferable fans down there, who TRULY believe they are real, authentic sports fans and deserve something from their pathetic, worthless sports franchises.)

There’s nothing that pleases me more than knowing that this old woman is probably crying again this morning…

She might want to keep those Kleenex nearby when Donovan McNabb gets hurt in Week 3. (Edit from GMC: I just knocked on wood out of fear that Joe Flacco might get hurt. PLEASE don’t get hurt Joe.)

1-Boy would it be nice to be able to root for a guy like this on MY team

2-He looks like a skinny Ray Bachman!

CC gave the Yankees just about what they paid for last night. He’s not always going to be perfect, but he’s going to win a lot more than he’s going to lose. He gave up more hits than I would have expected, but he was effective after he gave up hits. Not perfect, but damn good.

Jeremy Guthrie? Well, I didn’t like the Jeremy Guthrie I saw last night. He’s pitched well for the better part of the season. I hope we see more of that.

I also hope we see more of this…

As Tracy Morgan is the best thing that’s happened to MASN in like….ever.

Bitterness and cynicism happened in 2002. This is just plain indifference.

I can’t believe “Neal S” from The Loss Column somehow didn’t win “Apologist of the Morning” after this small piece of genius…

“I will say this, though: the horrendous start is not further proof of why folks are justified in staying away. Quite the opposite. Now is exactly the time to be there, More so than ever. That more fans don’t think this way is truly sad.”

Yep, people should feel bad because they choose not to pay a day of game service charge and a “premium game” service charge to sit with 20,000 fans from New York and watch a 4-17 team.

Very obviously Guthrie wasn’t TRYING to plunk Posada. That being said, when a team is forced to go from Jorge Posada to Fransico Cervelli, I can understand the frustration.

There are like 5,100,888 “unwritten” rules in baseball, so I’m guessing AJ Burnett will probably have to plunk…Ty Wigginton?? Wow, has it come to that? Maybe it’ll be Matt Wieters, but someone is getting thrown behind tonight.

And people wonder why other sports have become more popular than baseball.

And before we move on from the Orioles, a reminder that they’re back at it tonight at OPACY-as Brian Matusz faces AJ Burnett at 7:05pm. We’ll be “Orange Crush”-ing at WNST.net.

And congratulations to the MASN staff (we chose Adam Dembeck to accept on their behalf) for being named “Apologist of the Morning.” Nick Markakis was a nominee for Game MVP last night. A game where the Orioles got their asses kicked.

Sometimes your big brother has to remind you that he’s still your big brother, huh?

Tony Seaman’s Tigers were down 8-0 to the Blue Jays AT HALF.

The Jays will still have to go to Loyola next Saturday and beat the Greyhounds to get into the Tournament, while the Tigers have to beat Hofstra to have a shot at an at-large berth. Towson could still get an automatic bid if they could win the CAA Tournament-and they’ll have the advantage of playing games at Unitas Stadium.

And if you’re a Towson fan who wants to feel better today, I think I can help you. Trust me on this-you’re still a winner. How? Well, let’s take a look at a picture of upcoming Towson grad and current WNST intern Genna to figure out how…

“Make Music for Me” is a much better name for a horse anyway. Endorsement isn’t a horse, it’s a political event!

I haven’t decided who I think is going to win this thing yet-but I know I’m going to look sharp walking the grounds in Louisville. I’ll be Twitpic-ing and Facebook-ing pictures (Add me as a friend if you’d like, just search “Glenn Clark.” I’ll be the guy labeled as “The Complete Package.”), so you’ll fully understand shortly.

The only way someone could look better is if Lizzy Caplan from True Blood showed up at Churchill Downs. (Thanks Guyism!)

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because DESPITE the fact that the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated last night, it was still a REMARKABLE season for me as a hockey fan. Not having a team here to root for, I created a slew of memories following a bad team in Phoenix, only to have it pay off with this incredible run.

And as I always say, there’s plenty still going on for sports fans in Arizona…

For everyone who has said something like “they weren’t going to lose EVERY game they played at Camden Yards this season”, the only response I could think of was “Are you sure?”

There was an announced paid crowd of 20,000 at The Yard last night, and maybe the number of fans was somewhere in that neighborhood. It was good to see most of them go home unhappy.

I’ve heard a lot of praise for Kevin Millwood’s effort last night, but I’ll go ahead and be the one to say it. 5 and a third from your number 1 pitcher is not good enough, by any stretch of the imagination. They need more than that.

Another disturbing number from last night’s game was the combined 1-16 effort the Orioles got from the first four hitters in their lineup (Adam Jones had a double and Matt Wieters had two walks; Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada completely failed to reach base).

With the team having found some offensive success recently, I understand that Dave Trembley is looking for a little bit of continuity. With that in mind, I’m not suggesting any sort of offensive shakeup. But I AM suggesting that the players at the top of the lineup GET ON BASE.

Dear God can we PLEASE STOP MAKING THESE SO DIFFICULT IN THE 9TH INNING?!?!?!

I guess the team has discovered the solution though-make sure you’re ahead by at least 3 runs before you get to the 9th inning!

Cesar Izturis apparently wanted to make sure he found a way to make everyone forget about his 2-3, 3 RBI performance. Not running to first base on a ground ball in Seattle and not moving runners on 1st and 2nd over at Fenway Park would have been NOTHING compared to the beating he would have taken for that last night had Alex Rodriguez came through for the Bombers.

Alfredo Simon is (I guess), the guy for a little while. Apparently there was an epic moment before the game when Trembley asked Simon “Are you scared?”. Christ. Why didn’t he just go all the way and channel Gerard Butler???

But even this effort couldn’t wrap up “Apologist of the Morning” honors for Stan, as “The Great Arbitrator” Drew Forrester instead selected Steve Heiser from the York Dispatch; who offered “pity” for the Birds because they have to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East.

Ugh.

Moving back to what Stan wrote-I don’t COMPLETELY disagree with him. This ISN’T Dave Trembley’s fault alone. The problem is, Goldberg doesn’t suggest accountability for others in the organization who feigned interest in “wins and losses” this season despite not having any interest in putting together a legitimate major league roster.

It’s one thing to say “this isn’t Dave Trembley’s fault”, as it isn’t Dave Trembley’s fault ALONE. However, Trembley CAN be blamed for mismanaging a bullpen, questionable decisions about baserunning, insane lineup shuffling, and for a noticeable lack of fire in the collective belly of the team.

If you want to spare Trembley that blame, you have to be willing to place fault on Andy MacPhail and the leadership of the franchise. This isn’t just “unfortunate circumstances” or “bad luck.” This is a dreadful baseball team-so dreadful that winning 2 straight games was celebrated last night in the way some cities might celebrate the World Series.

Before we move on from the Orioles, a reminder that CC Sabathia faces Jeremy Guthrie tonight at Yankee Stadium south; first pitch is at 7:05, and the game can be seen on MASN. If someone paid their bill, the game might be seen on MASN-HD tonight as well!

And Shayne Graham has clearly been considered a shoe-in around the organization to be brought in and compete with Billy Cundiff for the gig.

Of course, it isn’t exactly a sexy list. It’s like having to pick a concert to go to from Nickelback, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. I GUESS I’m going to Nickelback, but I’m not exactly excited about it.

I expect Graham to be signed before mini-camp next weekend. They’ll want to give him an equal chance to make the team even before Training Camp. And if he wants to make the team, I’d suggest one thing…

With no offense to Willis, if I was picking someone to be the grand marshal of the race-I probably would have gone with Candice Boucher (Thanks Brosome.com!). I guess we just all have different ideas of what to look for in a grand marshal.

Add Duane Simpkins to the list of coaches who will say publicly (at least to me-and I believe he’ll be saying it on the air tomorrow with Bob Haynie on AM1570 tomorrow) that he wants the job. He’s currently coaching at St. Alban’s in Washington-and a lot of people hope he’ll help tap the DC recruiting pipeline more than Gary Williams’ staff has recently.

And don’t eliminate Xavier assistant Bino Ranson from the discussion. Despite once having Nestor Aparicio as a youth ball coach, the Baltimore product has quickly moved up the coaching pipeline; and had success this season under Chris Mack with the Musketeers. The Terps already have a Baltimore-based assistant in Keith Booth, but I’m not sure they’re completely thrilled with the endroads they’ve made here.

Still, it would very difficult for me to accept that someone coaching for the Terrapins was once coached by the Nasty One. He’s overcome greater obstacles than Michael Oher!

It’s a Happy Tuesday for me because I forgot to name a “Greatest Song of All Time This Week” yesterday, which means I can give the nod today to Cypress Hill and Tom Morello for their tune “Rise Up.” It’s actually pretty good…

Well, the 20,000 fans of the Bombers who will descend on OPACY tonight will get some good news. The leadership of the Baltimore Orioles knew that there would probably be as many fans from New York and New Jersey coming through their turnstyles this summer as there would be folks from Parkville, Carney and Glen Burnie; so they decided that they needed to alter their catering options so that the patrons would have options besides crabcakes. With that in mind, one of these is now open inside the Warehouse…

That’s right. If you haven’t been to the ballpark yet this season; there’s an authentic New York Deli now out in Right Field.

And why shouldn’t there be?

If their fans are going to come stimulate our economy, I guess we SHOULD cater to them.

“The Great Arbitrator” Drew Forrester didn’t have much of a choice this morning when it came to deciding on “Apologist of the Morning” on AM1570 WNST’s “The Morning Reaction.”

This was your winner in a LANDSLIDE.

Here are some of Tejada’s thoughts…

“I know we are not winning, but we want to play the good teams right now. Play the good teams, and our pitchers are going to be more ready and our bats aren’t going to go away,”

Well, they DID score 13 runs between Saturday and Sunday; so I guess the bats CAN’T go away-can they?

“When we beat the good teams, when we beat the Red Sox and Yankees, our attitude is going to be much better.”

And if we’re being fair-once again, they do already have ONE win against the Sox this season, and I think I can tell that the attitude is ALREADY better.

I don’t really even want to pile on here. I PRAY TO GOD that the Birds figure out a way to win a couple of games against the Yanks and Sox. And I really don’t think this is “bulletin board material” either.

Mostly because I think your opponent has to be concerned about playing you in order for there to be bulletin board material.

You see? It’s a good think Andy MacPhail didn’t go out and sign someone like Adrian Beltre! You can’t have someone like that block the path of Bell getting to the big leagues!

If I’m being serious, I’m happy to see Josh Bell break out of his early season funk. Hopefully he can continue to swing a hot bat. Hopefully it will be a bat so hot that he forces his way to the major league level and then begins a campaign to win Rookie of the Year.

Also, hopefully he can figure out a way to play both third and first base. I’m sure Rhyne Hughes is the next coming of Boog Powell, but I’d like an insurance policy.

Also, can Josh Bell close games? When I was covering Arizona State baseball out in Phoenix, I always thought it was cool to see an outfielder come in and close a game. It would be equally cool to see the Orioles pull their 3rd baseman over to do the same thing.

If you missed Terrence on with Drew Forrester this morning, head on over to the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault; and you can hear from the Ravens’ 2nd round pick.

Semi-strange numbers for both. Presumably, other numbers could be available in the future as roster cuts are made or in future years-but if the Ravens are going to try to sell some Kindle jerseys right now, they probably wouldn’t want him to change his number before the Ravens battle the Jets on Monday Night Football.

I don’t believe there is any truth to the rumor that the Ravens first offered the number “163” to Cody before he settled on 63.

As multiple members of the organization told me while I was out in Owings Mills this weekend, they received not a SINGLE OFFER for Gaither.

I firmly believe that teams are INTERESTED in Gaither-but given the level of talent in the early rounds of this year’s NFL Draft, they just weren’t comfortable with the idea of giving up a pick to acquire Gaither.

I’m not comfortable with the idea of finishing this post without positing pictures of Nadine Velasquez…

I feel like I’ve read this book before. Wasn’t it called “The Blind Side”?

In fairness, it’s only right that Michael be able to write his own version of the book-with his own thoughts on what’s happened in his life. He didn’t like everything that Michael Lewis wrote-so it’s good that he is able to tell the story the way he wants to tell it.

I’m looking forward to writing a book one day too. Mine will be called “Steve Melewski & Me: How A Summer Of Orioles Love Changed My Views As A Broadcaster.”

1-While Driesell’s departure doesn’t exactly HELP the state of Gary Williams’ current staff, it does help Gary Williams indirectly-as he had only Mike Lonergan (Vermont) and Jimmy Patsos (Loyola) amongst former assistants who were head coaches at Division 1 programs. Dave Dickerson left Tulane this offseason and is now an assistant at Ohio State; Billy Hahn was dismissed from LaSalle quite some time ago and resurfaced as an assistant at West Virginia. This will extend the “Gary Williams Coaching Tree” to 3; which means a lot more to head coaches than you might realize.

2-There have been a TON of names floating around as potential candidates to replace Driesell on Gary Williams’ staff. Terrell Stokes (who previously interviewed for an assistant job in College Park and later served as an assistant at Loyola), Matt Kovarik (former Maryland assistant and current Loyola assistant), Matt Hahn (Vermont assistant), Duane Simpkins (St. Alban’s School Head Coach in DC), Byron Mouton (plays for the Maryland Greenhawks of PBL) and even Juan Dixon have been mentioned as possible candidates amongst former Terrapins. Of that list, Stokes has confirmed to me that he’s interested-and I’ll be poking around with some of the others today.

This isn’t a simple job. Working for Gary Williams never is. But it certainly isn’t a bad place to be for someone who is interested in moving forward with their coaching career.

Which really is a pretty good get. You’re probably familiar with Sterling’s brother Ashton Gibbs-who plays for Pitt. He’s not big-we know that. He’s 6’1″, 180; and some who have watched him think those numbers are generous. But he can certainly play. Here’s a look…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqy0A7KsiXM[/youtube]

The only bad thing about the commitment is that it means more of a Jersey influence here in Charm City. There’s only so much of Chris Bonetti that I can take.

I’m limiting the amount of people who say “here’s 20 bucks, go bet it on a longshot.” I’m doing it for Tim Dotterweich because he’s letting me borrow a suit. If you let me borrow a cool hat, I’ll do it for you. You know, a hat like this…

And finally, I leave you with this…

The Milwaukee Bucks mascot is better than yours. Just trust me on this….

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because A-I’ve put so many chemicals up my nose in the last 24 hours that I think I’m drug-influenced; B-Tonight is Alicia Keys, so NOTHING can bring me down.

As a note to the Baltimore City Police Department-there is NO restraining order….yet. Please don’t try to keep me out of the building. However, if you see THIS guy in the building….you might want to go ahead and have him removed…

HOWEVER-if you were one of those people who was hoping that a new owner would change the alcohol policy on the Preakness infield, it doesn’t appear that will be the case. Which is bad news for Ray Bachman, who had been celebrating the potential change by drinking a keg by himself for the last 36 years of his life.

Myself, I DO think it is good news that Preakness will be staying. We were THIS close to the Harford County Farm Fair being arguably amongst the most significant annual events in the state of Maryland.

If you missed Tom Chuckas’ interview with Drew Forrester this morning, check it out in the Audio Vault here at WNST.net.

Which goes back to the point Drew Forrester and I discussed on “The Comcast Morning Show” Tuesday morning….”If you don’t like something, sue someone!”

If I were Jeff Seder…or David Cordish…or Kevin Plank…or ANYONE else involved in the auction process, I’d be furious. How is it possible to have gotten to (and past) the original auction date, yet this was allowed to happen???

The ONLY good news in all of this mess? At least THIS GUY won’t be involved….

Which would of course be good news for everyone; as the mere THOUGHT of Ty Wigginton playing second base in real games makes small children shiver in fear.

Hopefully Brian Roberts won’t need more than a month to be season-ready. If we get to the end of April/beginning of May before B-Rob heats up, the O’s may already be playing games that don’t matter a whole lot.

The Orioles could DESPERATELY use a couple more starts like this before Opening Day, as Brian Matusz (today’s starter against Rich Hill-YES, THAT RICH HILL-and the Cardinals again in Jupiter) has looked MUCH MORE the part of a #2 starter than Guthrie has.

HOWEVER-yesterday’s start by Guthrie was also a reminder that even when he has pitched well over the years-he hasn’t always been able to win. His ERA can be as good as he wants it to be, he has to know how to WIN.

Which is one more thing that everyone knew, yet still qualifies as news. Is there any chance Ozzie Newsome and company can petition the NFL to let them just HAVE Samari’s “cousin” Myron Rolle in exchange for having given Samari a contract before the 2009 season?

With all of that being said, Samari Rolle will go down as one of the better free agent acquisitions in Ravens history. Or at least better than some others…

While we’re making statements, I’m still interested in Mila Kunis myself, especially after seeing the new pictures of her in GQ….

Look, no Ravens fans want Frank Walker back. I get that. And Frank Walker should NOT be one of this team’s first 3 Cornerback options. But they NEED Cornerback depth; especially with Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington being question marks in Training Camp and beyond.

My gut says he won’t be back. But I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he was.

In all seriousness, I think acquiring either kicker would be a good move for the Ravens. They both have had reputable NFL careers; and even though they’ve both missed big kicks, they’ve also both MADE big kicks. I would find either to be better choices than Billy Cundiff.

Is it a perfect rule? Absolutely not. Does it make sense that the rule was adopted for the playoffs and not the regular season? Not at all.

Is it a LITTLE weird that Bisciotti voted against it while almost every other owner in the league voted for it? Yeah, it probably is.

Do I ask too many questions in this forum and then immediately answer them? Probably. Do any of you watch “Parks & Recreation”? You’ll understand much better. AND you’ll understand my fascination with Amy Poehler. Maybe.

We all know that Ralph Friedgen’s “make or break” season will be made or broken by the offensive line. He’ll have talented players at RB and WR, and the defense absolutely SHOULD continue to improve in Don Brown’s 2nd year as coordinator. But if the O-Line doesn’t improve, nothing changes.

It’s a Happy Friday for me because ol’ Drew Forrester was a man of his word and painted his face Morgan State colors this morning to keep a promise to Todd Bozeman after the Bears won the MEAC Tournament title. Many thanks to our friend Kia (follow her on Twitter @Ms15StepsAhead) for coming in to paint his face. Here’s the artist and the final product…

I want to encourage everyone to head out to The Nest on Pratt Street tonight to watch the game with the WNST gang.

Unfortunately, I will not be there.

As I said this morning on “The Comcast Morning Show”, I am not going be to be able to watch the game in public. I mean, hopefully it won’t be a close game-but my guess is that it will be. And if it is, I’ll be a WRECK. This is why it is MUCH better for me to be on the road with the team, as I’m forced to try to control my emotions.

Don’t even bother asking me for a prediction, either. I know that Maryland is about 10-12 points better than Houston. But this is March Madness. It’s a different animal.

Obviously, it’s a tremendous matchup between gifted guards. That being said, this CANNOT just be a matchup of guards. If it is, Maryland is playing into the hands of what Tom Penders’ team wants to do.

Maryland is the type of team that WANTS to dictate pace, but they have to be smart about it. Instead of JUST being up and down all day, they ABSOLUTELY need to try to get the ball inside and let Jordan Williams have his way as often as possible.

Also, the Houston guards will try to go to the rim-so Williams, Milbourne and Mosley will need to have active hands. The Terrapins do a tremendous job of getting blocks when opposing guards penetrate, and that needs to be the case again tonight. If you FORCE a team to start throwing up 3 pointers, the results will likely be in your favor.

Look, do I think Todd Bozeman’s team is going to be able to pull the stunner of all stunners today? No, I really don’t. BUT-do I think that with big games from Reggie Holmes and Kevin Thompson they could at least make it interesting? Sure. Sure they could.

No matter what, it is ABSOLUTELY awesome to have a chance to watch the Bears in the Big Dance.

Having Bob Huggins on the show this week helped remind me that I hate WVU, but my hate for them goes back much farther than that. Never was it more evident than a trip to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. I just hope ‘Eers fans are as miserable today as they were back then, when Steve Suter helped add to the misery….

Look-I STILL think the beer ban is a mistake, but I do give the Maryland Jockey Club credit. This is BETTER than what they did last year.

Allowing fans to bring coolers in this year is a GOOD decision. Forcing fans to purchase chicken fingers and the like last year was a mistake. Does this mean that someone will sneak in a watermelon soaked in vodka? Of course it does. But they just don’t want fans bringing in beer cans and throwing them at each others’ heads. I get it.

Remember when Kevin Nash and Scott Hall came back to WWE after Vince McMahon put the nWo back together? Nash ended up blowing out his knee in the middle of a match on Monday Night RAW-screaming in pain in the corner as the other performers continued around him. Was ANYONE surprised???

That’s how I felt when I head Koji Uehara hurt his hamstring again. Absolutely NO SURPRISE.

To no one’s surprise, the first day of the NCAA Tournament was ABSOLUTELY the best day of the year. Just freaking awesome throughout. I used to do a series called “The Men of March” on a show I hosted in Phoenix. We’d bring on the likes of Drew Nicholas, Christian Laettner, James Forrest, Bryce Drew, etc. and talk about those amazing things they had done in the NCAA Tournament. There are a few more “Men of March” today….

Ali Farokhmanesh

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0LvF7UWmak[/youtube]

Danero Thomas

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d59Jud-Citc[/youtube]

Ish Smith

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_SWs8_xDdQ[/youtube]

Quincy Pondexter

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fue-pxPyHIY[/youtube]

and MORE.

The Tournament is so crazy that I’m starting to think we’ll end up seeing Essex Community College in the Sweet 16.

It’s a Happy Wednesday for me because…..well……it’s St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not Irish, and I’ll never be the type to say “I’m Irish for today” or anything like that. BUT, I enjoy Bangers & Mash, Smithwick’s AND Flogging Molly…..

Trying to spare any sort of poetic statement, this is going to be a special run for this combination of coach and player.

Vasquez is not only the best player Gary Williams has had since Juan Dixon, it’s the best relationship he’s had with a player since Juan Dixon. Juan was famously known for being willing to hurl things right back at Williams, including language that would make some of us blush.

This type of story makes sense, as every time out might be the last time this coach and player share the floor together. There’s no doubt in my mind that the coach isn’t particularly interested in thinking about the first game he’ll play AFTER the player moves on.

Of course, seeing as how THIS is the most exciting thing to do in Greensboro….

…isn’t EVERY night in Greensboro a bad night?

Now, with that being said…there is a question about whether or not Vasquez has reached an emotional high point with the win at Duke and the ACC regular season title split, or if he has another level he can reach over the next week(s).

That being said, even reaching “another level” might not guarantee victory for the Terps-as the competition won’t be easy.

Seriously though, do you really think the Terps are the 4th most popular college basketball team in the country? North Carolina and Duke make sense at the top of the list, but I would assume Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and UConn would be next on the list.

I guess it’s cool, as it means this Terrapins team has made some traction nationally. But I can’t help but wonder just how realistic the numbers are.

It IS a shame. Morgan’s trip to Buffalo isn’t terrible-and seeing as how their tickets sold out, clearly there are plenty of Bears fans who have decided that they’re ready to make the trip.

Spokane is just unfortunate.

Obviously, SOMEONE has to go play out west. Of course, playing in a bigger city with more flight options might help to limit the damage. I am absolutely NOT a fan of the NCAA playing Tournament games in places like Spokane, Boise, and other less than desirable cities.

I mean, what’s wrong with playing like nice places like Miami, San Diego, New Orleans and Baltimore*?

My first reaction to this is “obviously Towson is saying that winning really doesn’t matter to them.”

My second reaction is only slightly more positive; “Towson is clearly saying that money is such a mess that they can’t really be too concerned about basketball.”

Look, I think Pat Kennedy is a better coach than a lot of guys who could have jobs. That being said, it isn’t working at Towson. They won some games down the stretch, including 5 of their last 8 regular season games and 6 of their last 10 including the CAA Tournament. That stretch included a win at William & Mary, which helped to knock the Tribe off the at-large bubble.

BUT….in a perfect world, I would imagine the athletic department there would try to use a coaching search and hire to pump some new life into a program that admittedly does have a few good pieces in place.

It was a nice night for lacrosse at Unitas Stadium, and a big win for Tony Seaman and the Tigers, who were in real danger of getting off to an 0-5 start with a showdown looming against Virginia on Saturday.

Unfortunately, Navy is in a BIT of trouble-as they have now fallen to 3-4. They play Holy Cross in Annapolis Saturday and then travel to Colgate a week later; but their stretch after that is brutal. Before the Patriot League Tournament, they play Georgetown, at Maryland, Army at M&T Bank Stadium, and Johns Hopkins. Yikes.

If you’re interested in seeing some lacrosse this afternoon before starting your St. Patty’s festivities, head over to Owings Mills to Stevenson host Stevens (yeah, you read that right) at 4pm at the Caves Athletic Complex.

(Edit from GMC: That’s not because I’m poor, it’s because I LOVE Pork flavored Ramen noodles.)

In all seriousness, the Ravens will miss Dwan Edwards. He had found himself a nice spot playing on obvious running downs while Trevor Pryce rotated in for obvious passing downs.

With Edwards and Justin Bannan gone, D-Line becomes an even more important spot for the Ravens to try to upgrade in the NFL Draft. Also, expect Brandon McKinney, Kelly Talavou and maybe even Lamar Divens to be in the mix. There might even be another guy….

It’s a Happy Monday for me because-while my trip to Greensboro was disappointing (I know Georgia Tech is a tough team-but I did NOT expect a first round loss in the ACC Tournament), my trip to North Carolina was not.

First of all, kudos to WNST.net’s own Sam Angell-who directed me towards a place called Biscuitville. Much like many things in life, you don’t have to know you’ve been searching for something in order to find it….

I would also like to send a shout-out to a place called “The Cook-Out”, which was in the neighborhood of Elon University. How many freaking colleges are in that general area? And I’ll throw in a plug for Guilford Golden Ale….

…but I will not confirm nor deny that the current scrape on my nose has anything to do with trying to open a Guilford Golden Ale in my hotel room despite not having a bottle opener.

I feel like taking a page from Seth Meyers and Jerry Seinfeld and saying “REALLY?”

For as much of a sting as it is for Maryland, it is clearly much MORE of a sting for the Jayhawks-as the best team in the NCAA Tournament deserves better. Much better in fact.

That being said, this is the NCAA Tournament. Nothing is easy. I never thought Maryland was a Final Four team myself, but I think getting back to the Sweet 16 is an important measure for this team, and that won’t be easy with the Spartans potentially looming in Round 2.

Todd Bozeman’s club certainly deserved to not be doomed to a Number 16 seed. We talked to Reggie Holmes last night on our “Selection Sunday” special on AM1570 WNST; and we pointed out that there is something-mentally-to be said about going into a game like this knowing that you only have to win a game-not rewrite history.

I know there is a history of #15 seeded MEAC teams beating #2 seeds (Coppin State over South Carolina, Hampton over Iowa State); and there MIGHT be an argument that the ‘Eers are similar to South Carolina or Iowa State-as those were teams with great guards but not a whole lot of size (Iowa State had lost Marcus Fizer a season earlier).

That being said, this WVU team has HORSES. De’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks aren’t JUST good combo forwards. They’re absolute thoroughbreds. They control the offense and they’re 6’8″ and 6’7″ respectively.

There’s nothing the Bears can do to answer that, even if Kevin Thompson has some success inside.

It is rare to get a 1st round matchup of coaches with 600+ wins. What makes this particular matchup special is the fact that you have two 600+ win coaches who have a history together.

Gary Williams is 2-1 all-time against Penders (he’s also 2-1 against Izzo for the record); splitting two meetings with George Washington in the BB&T Classic, and topping Texas in the 1995 NCAA Tournament.

And before we move on from the Maryland-Houston matchup, let me point out that there are two things I DO like about Houston. One-their city is the home of this person….

AND….It is hard for me to have that much venom towards a team called the Cougars…

That being said, as there was less tension, there was also less jubilation in College Park-as no one was overly thrilled with having to take a trip to Spokane. Eric Hayes mentioned that last night when he joined our “Selection Sunday” special on AM1570.

It’s not just because Spokane is kind of a lame city-it’s because asking family, friends and fans to try to travel from Baltimore, Washington or other points in the area to Spokane is very difficult.

I’ve never understood why the NCAA continues to deliver events to places like Spokane, Boise and Buffalo. The HSBC Arena in Buffalo got Tournament games back this year after hosting them just 3 years ago!

These cities make places like Detroit and Cleveland appear downright appealing!!!

And after winning the Big East Tournament, they probably deserved a #1 seed. That being said, they’re not in a TERRIBLE bracket, as I think Kentucky is just as vulnerable as Duke amongst the top seeds. When your team is lead by freshmen (as the Wildcats are), there is a chance you might well lose early.

And no matter what happens Friday in Buffalo, there are DEFINITE areas where Charm City > West Virginia….

Which is a GREAT sign, as he became the first O’s pitcher to work through the 4th inning in Grapefruit League play.

That being said, they need to be seeing 5 innings from other pitchers now as we’re about halfway through Spring Training. But if this is a sign that Brian Matusz is ready to REALLY pitch come Opening Day, that’s a MAJOR plus for the Orioles.

We KNEW this was a bigger situation than Dave Trembley and the Orioles wanted to let us know.

What do the Orioles do now? Stacey Long from Camden Chat threw out Mark Loretta during her visit with Drew Forrester this morning on “The Comcast Morning Show” on AM1570. That name makes sense, as he is a player that could be acquired without having to give anything up anything. Mark Loretta could wear Orange & Black until B-Rob was healthy again, and then make a decision about what to do with Loretta.

I’m still surprised the Cardinals haven’t made a move to acquire some QB depth. Not that I think Troy Smith would necessarily be any sort of answer, but I do know that there are a bunch of Ohio State fans in the Phoenix area. It would likely be a popular move.

I heard some reports that before the game, there was plenty of fist pumping in the New Jersey locker room…..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UfYtmzCJGY[/youtube]

And finally, I leave you with this.

I love Steve Francis. He had a HELL of a year for Gary Williams, even if the Terps lost to St. John’s in the Sweet 16. BUT….clearly his lack of playing time in Orlando is effecting his sideline demeanor…. (Thanks Deadspin!)

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the season breakdown I included in the blog. In all 8 losses this season, the Ravens lost the final 5 minutes of each half. That’s 16 halves where the team shot themselves in the foot in the must crucial stages-all of which lead to losses.

I can’t make this stuff up.

Look, the handful of people (and it’s not NEARLY as many as you think) who really think John Harbaugh should be fired are INSANE. But the people who think John Harbaugh is above criticism are also off-base. The final 5 minutes of a half are EXACTLY the place where the head coach is most necessary; as he has to be able to manage the situations while the coordinators make the calls.

Also, I’m NOT rooting for Rex Ryan. Mostly because I want to know that the Ravens made the right choice.

Seriously, this was by far and away the STRANGEST press gathering I could have imagined Derrick holding. Please check it out in the Audio Vault at WNST.net.

I wasn’t really surprised AT ALL when Derrick opened his gathering by saying “I’m done.” Frankly, there was a part of me that expected it. I still think that in order of likelihood; retirement, returning to the Titans and returning to the Ravens are the only things Mase will do at this point.

But I have no idea what he was thinking yesterday. You really have to hear it.

And it’s not the first time Peter King and I have been compared favorably, either.

The Ravens are NOT as good with Tom Zbikowski playing as they are with Ed Reed, no matter what some people in town (who I’m only guessing are still wearing their Notre Dame pajamas right now) have tried to exclaim.

Again, at some point-this season for UMBC is going to be about little more than trying to get an America East win for Randy Monroe’s bunch. It’s a trying season, and it makes Drew Forrester’s commercial sound even more ridiculous-which makes me giggle.

Yes, this should be a 30 point pounding-but no, nothing is given. Especially considering the fact that the Lancers will be starting 2 players from the Old Line State tonight-and will be playing others from the DC area who likely dreamed of playing for Gary Williams and on the Comcast Center floor. It is always tough to gauge a group of players who think that their next game is the Super Bowl against a group of players who think their next game is against a team with a funny name.

The good news is that Maryland will completely control their postseason destiny. As long as they don’t finish 8-8 or worse in an ACC that is pretty open, they’ll be fine. But as of right now, their best win is over Florida State. You can’t call that a Tournament-worthy resume just yet.

Which was the right choice. With no offense to Zenyatta and a big win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Rachel Alexandra’s run for the Black Eyed Susans and her dominance in the Kentucky Oaks as well was more than enough for me to say she was a worthy winner.